Ealdred (archbishop of York)

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For other people with the same name, see
Aldred (name)
.

Ealdred
Gloucester Abbey
Elected25 December 1060
Term ended11 September 1069
PredecessorCynesige
SuccessorThomas of Bayeux
Other post(s)Abbot of Tavistock
Bishop of Worcester
Orders
Consecration1046
Personal details
Died11 September 1069
York
BuriedYork Minster

Ealdred (or Aldred;[1] died 11 September 1069) was Abbot of Tavistock, Bishop of Worcester, and Archbishop of York in early medieval England. He was related to a number of other ecclesiastics of the period. After becoming a monk at the monastery at Winchester, he was appointed Abbot of Tavistock Abbey in around 1027. In 1046 he was named to the Bishopric of Worcester. Ealdred, besides his episcopal duties, served Edward the Confessor, the King of England, as a diplomat and as a military leader. He worked to bring one of the king's relatives, Edward the Exile, back to England from Hungary to secure an heir for the childless king.

In 1058 he undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the first bishop from England to do so.[2] As administrator of the Diocese of Hereford, he was involved in fighting against the Welsh, suffering two defeats at the hands of raiders before securing a settlement with Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, a Welsh ruler.

In 1060, Ealdred was elected to the archbishopric of York but had difficulty in obtaining papal approval for his appointment, managing to do so only when he promised not to hold the bishoprics of York and Worcester simultaneously. He helped secure the election of

Wulfstan
as his successor at Worcester. During his archiepiscopate, he built and embellished churches in his diocese, and worked to improve his clergy by holding a synod which published regulations for the priesthood.

Some sources say that following King Edward the Confessor's death in 1066, it was Ealdred who crowned

William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy
and a distant relative of King Edward's. Ealdred crowned King William on Christmas Day in 1066. William never quite trusted Ealdred or the other English leaders, and Ealdred had to accompany William back to Normandy in 1067, but he had returned to York by the time of his death in 1069. Ealdred supported the churches and monasteries in his diocese with gifts and building projects.

Early life

Ealdred was probably born in the west of England, and could be related to Lyfing, his predecessor as bishop of Worcester.[1] His family, from Devonshire, may have been well-to-do.[4] Another relative was Wilstan or Wulfstan, who under Ealdred's influence became Abbot of Gloucester.[1] Ealdred was a monk in the cathedral chapter at Winchester Cathedral before becoming abbot of Tavistock Abbey about 1027, an office he held until about 1043.[5] Even after leaving the abbacy of Tavistock, he continued to hold two properties from the abbey until his death.[4] No contemporary documents relating to Ealdred's time as abbot have been discovered.[6]

Ealdred was made bishop of Worcester in 1046, a position he held until his resignation in 1062.[7] He may have acted as suffragan, or subordinate bishop, to his predecessor Lyfing before formally assuming the bishopric,[1][8] as from about 1043 Ealdred witnessed as an episcopus, or bishop, and a charter from 1045 or early 1046 names Sihtric as abbot of Tavistock.[6] Lyfing died on 26 March 1046, and Ealdred became bishop of Worcester shortly after. However, Ealdred did not receive the other two dioceses Lyfing had held, Crediton and Cornwall; King Edward the Confessor (reigned 1043–1066) granted these to Leofric, who combined the two sees at Crediton in 1050.[6]

Bishop and royal advisor

Ealdred was an advisor to King Edward the Confessor, and was often involved in the royal government.[9] He was also a military leader, and in 1046 he led an unsuccessful expedition against the Welsh.[9] This was in retaliation for a raid led by the Welsh rulers Gruffydd ap Rhydderch, Rhys ap Rhydderch, and Gruffydd ap Llywelyn. Ealdred's expedition was betrayed by some Welsh soldiers who were serving with the English, and Ealdred was defeated.[10]

In 1050, Ealdred went to Rome "on the king's errand",

Æthelstan, was blind, so Ealdred took on the role of defender.[17]

Diplomatic travels

Tapestry image of a man on horseback holding a falcon
Harold Godwinson, from the Bayeux Tapestry, whom Ealdred failed to catch in 1051

Earl Godwin's rebellion against the king in 1051 came as a blow to Ealdred, who was a supporter of the earl and his family. Ealdred was present at the royal council at London that banished Godwin's family.[18] Later in 1051, when he was sent to intercept Harold Godwinson and his brothers as they fled England after their father's outlawing, Ealdred "could not, or would not" capture the brothers.[19][20] The banishment of Ealdred's patron came shortly after the death of Ælfric Puttoc, the Archbishop of York. York and Worcester had long had close ties, and the two sees had often been held in plurality, or at the same time. Ealdred probably wanted to become Archbishop of York after Ælfric's death, but his patron's eclipse led to the king appointing Cynesige, a royal chaplain, instead.[18] In September 1052, though, Godwin returned from exile and his family was restored to power.[21] By late 1053 Ealdred was once more in royal favour.[18] At some point, he was alleged to have accompanied Swein on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but proof is lacking.[22][a]

In 1054 King Edward sent Ealdred to Germany to obtain Emperor

Hermann II, the Archbishop of Cologne.[26] He also was impressed with the buildings he saw, and later incorporated some of the German styles into his own constructions.[27] The main objective of the mission, however, was to secure the return of Edward; but this failed, mainly because Henry III's relations with the Hungarians were strained, and the emperor was unable or unwilling to help Ealdred.[28] Ealdred was able to discover that Edward was alive, and had a place at the Hungarian court.[29][b] Although some sources say Ealdred attended the coronation of Emperor Henry IV, this is not possible, as on the date Henry was crowned, Ealdred was in England consecrating an abbot.[27]

Ealdred had returned to England by 1055, and brought with him a copy of the

secular canons, was introduced into England by Ealdred sometime before 1059. Probably he brought it back from Germany, possibly in concert with Harold.[31]

After Ealdred's return to England he took charge of the sees of Hereford

Gloucester Abbey.[33] The authors of the Handbook of British Chronology Third Edition say he was named bishop of Hereford in 1056, holding the see until he resigned it in 1060,[34] but other sources say he merely administered the see while it was vacant,[35] or that he was bishop of Hereford from 1055 to 1060.[36]

Ealdred became involved with the see of Ramsbury after its bishop Herman got into a dispute with King Edward over the movement of the seat of his bishopric to Malmesbury Abbey. Herman wished to move the seat of his see, but Edward refused permission for the move. Ealdred was a close associate of Herman's,[27] and the historian H. R. Loyn called Herman "something of an alter ego" to Ealdred.[37] According to the medieval chronicler John of Worcester, Ealdred was given the see of Ramsbury to administer while Herman remained outside England. Herman returned in 1058, and resumed his bishopric. There is no contemporary documentary evidence of Ealdred's administration of Ramsbury.[27]

Welsh affairs, Jerusalem, and Worcester

The king again employed Ealdred as a diplomat in 1056, when he assisted Earls Harold and Leofric in negotiations with the Welsh.[38] Edward sent Ealdred after the death in battle of Bishop Leofgar of Hereford, who had attacked Gruffydd ap Llywelyn after encouragement from the king. However, Leofgar lost the battle and his life, and Edward had to sue for peace.[39] Although details of the negotiations are lacking, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn swore loyalty to King Edward,[38] but the oath may not have had any obligations on Gruffydd's part to Edward. The exact terms of the submission are not known in total, but Gruffydd was not required to assist Edward in war nor attend Edward's court.[39] Ealdred was rewarded with the administration of the see of Hereford, which he held until 1061, and was appointed Archbishop of York.[38] The diocese had suffered a serious raid from the Welsh in 1055, and during his administration, Ealdred continued the rebuilding of the cathedral church as well as securing the cathedral chapter's rights.[38] Ealdred was granted the administration so that the area might have someone with experience with the Welsh in charge.[40]

In 1058 Ealdred made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the first English bishop to make the journey.[2] He travelled through Hungary, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle said that "he went to Jerusalem in such state as no-one had done before him."[41] While in Jerusalem he made a gift of a gold chalice to the church of the Holy Sepulchre.[42] It is possible that the reason Ealdred travelled through Hungary was to arrange the travel of Edward the Exile's family to England. Another possibility is that he wished to search for other possible heirs to King Edward in Hungary.[43] It is not known exactly when Edward the Exile's family returned to England, whether they returned with Edward in 1057, or sometime later, so it is only a possibility that they returned with Ealdred in 1058.[44]

Very little documentary evidence is available from Ealdred's time as Bishop of Worcester. Only five leases that he signed survive, and all date from 1051 to 1053. Two further leases exist in

Wulfstan, the prior of the cathedral chapter, performed the religious duties in the diocese. On the financial side, the Evesham Chronicle states that Æthelwig, who became abbot of Evesham Abbey in 1058, administered Worcester before he became abbot.[45]

Archbishop of York

Tapestry image of a procession of men carrying a coffin heading towards a church building
The funeral cortège of Edward the Confessor, from the Bayeux Tapestry

Cynesige, the archbishop of York, died on 22 December 1060, and Ealdred was elected Archbishop of York on Christmas Day, 1060. Although a bishop was promptly appointed to Hereford, none was named to Worcester, and it appears Ealdred intended to retain Worcester along with York, which several of his predecessors had done.[43] There were a few reasons for this, one of which was political, as the kings of England preferred to appoint bishops from the south to the northern bishoprics, hoping to counter the northern tendency towards separatism. Another reason was that York was not a wealthy see, and Worcester was. Holding Worcester along with York allowed the archbishop sufficient revenue to support himself.[46]

In 1061 Ealdred

Wulfstan, says Nicholas refused the pallium until a promise to find a replacement for Worcester was given by Ealdred.[49] Yet another chronicler, John of Worcester, mentions nothing of any trouble in Rome, and when discussing the appointment of Wulfstan, says Wulfstan was elected freely and unanimously by the clergy and people.[49] John of Worcester also claims that at Wulfstan's consecration, Stigand, the archbishop of Canterbury extracted a promise from Ealdred that neither he nor his successors would lay claim to any jurisdiction over the diocese of Worcester. Given that John of Worcester wrote his chronicle after the eruption of the Canterbury–York supremacy struggle, the story of Ealdred renouncing any claims to Worcester needs to be considered suspect.[50]

For whatever reason, Ealdred gave up the see of Worcester in 1062, when papal legates arrived in England to hold a council and make sure Ealdred relinquished Worcester.[51] This happened at Easter in 1062.[40] Ealdred was succeeded by Wulfstan, chosen by Ealdred, but John of Worcester relates that Ealdred had a hard time deciding between Wulfstan and Æthelwig.[52] The legates had urged the selection of Wulfstan because of his saintliness.[53] Because the position of Stigand, the archbishop of Canterbury, was irregular, Wulfstan sought and received consecration as a bishop from Ealdred. Normally, Wulfstan would have gone to the archbishop of Canterbury, as the see of Worcester was within Canterbury's province.[54] Although Ealdred gave up the bishopric, the appointment of Wulfstan was one that allowed Ealdred to continue his considerable influence on the see of Worcester. Ealdred retained a number of estates belonging to Worcester. Even after the Norman Conquest, Ealdred still controlled some events in Worcester, and it was Ealdred, not Wulfstan, who opposed Urse d'Abetot's attempt to extend the castle of Worcester into the cathedral after the Norman Conquest.[55]

While archbishop, Ealdred built at Beverley, expanding on the building projects begun by his predecessor Cynesige,[56] as well as repairing and expanding other churches in his diocese.[33] He also built refectories for the canons at York and Southwell.[57] He also was the one bishop who published ecclesiastical legislation during Edward the Confessor's reign, attempting to discipline and reform the clergy.[58] He held a synod of his clergy shortly before 1066.[59]

After the death of Edward the Confessor

Coin image of a crowned male head with a sceptre in the background
A penny from the time of William I

John of Worcester, a medieval chronicler, said Ealdred crowned King Harold II in 1066, although the Norman chroniclers mention Stigand as the officiating prelate.[3] Given Ealdred's known support of Godwin's family, John of Worcester is probably correct.[1] Stigand's position as archbishop was canonically suspect, and as earl Harold had not allowed Stigand to consecrate one of the earl's churches, it is unlikely Harold would have allowed Stigand to perform the much more important royal coronation.[60] Arguments for Stigand having performed the coronation, however, rely on the fact that no other English source names the ecclesiastic who performed the ceremony; all Norman sources name Stigand as the presider.[61] In all events, Ealdred and Harold were close, and Ealdred supported Harold's bid to become king.[19][62] Ealdred perhaps accompanied Harold when the new king went to York and secured the support of the northern magnates shortly after Harold's consecration.[63]

According to the medieval chronicler

Harald Hardrada to Ealdred.[64] Gaimar asserts that King Harold did this because he had heard of Duke William's landing in England, and needed to rush south to counter it.[65] After the Battle of Hastings, Ealdred joined the group who tried to elevate Edgar the Ætheling, Edward the Exile's son, as king, but eventually he submitted to William the Conqueror at Berkhamsted.[66][67] John of Worcester says the group supporting Edgar vacillated over what to do while William ravaged the countryside,[68] which led to Ealdred and Edgar's submission to William.[69]

Ealdred crowned William king on Christmas Day 1066.[70] An innovation in William's coronation ceremony was that before the actual crowning, Ealdred asked the assembled crowd, in English, if it was their wish that William be crowned king. The Bishop of Coutances then did the same, but in Norman French.[70] In March 1067, William took Ealdred with him when William returned to Normandy, along with the other English leaders Earl Edwin of Mercia, Earl Morcar, Edgar the Ætheling, and Archbishop Stigand.[71] Ealdred at Whitsun 1068 performed the coronation of Matilda, William's wife.[48] The Laudes Regiae, or song commending a ruler, that was performed at Matilda's coronation may have been composed by Ealdred himself for the occasion.[72] In 1069, when the northern thegns rebelled against William and attempted to install Edgar the Ætheling as king, Ealdred continued to support William.[67] He was the only northern leader to support William, however.[73] Ealdred was back at York by 1069. He died there on 11 September 1069,[7] and his body was buried in his episcopal cathedral. He may have taken an active part in trying to calm the rebellions in the north in 1068 and 1069.[48] The medieval chronicler William of Malmesbury records a story that when the new sheriff of Worcester, Urse d'Abetot, encroached on the cemetery of the cathedral chapter for Worcester Cathedral, Ealdred pronounced a rhyming curse on him, saying "Thou are called Urse. May you have God's curse."[74][c]

Legacy

After Ealdred's death, one of the restraints on William's treatment of the English was removed.[75] Ealdred was one of a few native Englishmen who William appears to have trusted, and his death led to fewer attempts to integrate Englishmen into the administration, although such efforts did not entirely stop.[76] In 1070, a church council was held at Westminster and a number of bishops were deposed. By 1073 there were only two Englishmen in episcopal sees, and by the time of William's death in 1087 there was only one, Wulfstan II of Worcester.[75]

Ealdred did much to restore discipline in the monasteries and churches under his authority,

presbytery and an unusually splendid painted ceiling covering "all the upper part of the church from the choir to the tower ... intermingled with gold in various ways, and in a wonderful fashion."[77] He added a pulpit "in German style" of bronze, gold and silver, surmounted by an arch with a rood cross in the same materials; these were examples of the lavish decorations added to important churches in the years before the conquest.[33][78]

Ealdred encouraged Folcard, a monk of

Goliardic songs which became famous in the Middle Ages.[81] The historian Michael Lapidge suggests that the Laudes Regiae, which are included in Cotton Vitellius E xii, might have been composed by Ealdred, or a member of his household. Another historian, H. J. Cowdrey, argued that the laudes were composed at Winchester. These praise songs are probably the same performed at Matilda's coronation, but might have been used at other court ceremonies before Ealdred's death.[82]

Historians have seen Ealdred as an "old-fashioned prince-bishop".[83] Others say he "raised the see of York from its former rustic state".[84] He was known for his generosity and for his diplomatic and administrative abilities.[83] After the Conquest, Ealdred provided a degree of continuity between the pre- and post-Conquest worlds.[85] One modern historian feels it was Ealdred who was behind the compilation of the D version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and gives a date in the 1050s as its composition.[86] Certainly, Ealdred is one of the leading figures in the work, and it is likely one of his clerks compiled the version.[87]

Notes

  1. ^ If he did accompany Swein, the historian Frank Barlow argues that it was probably in 1058.[23]
  2. ^ Edward eventually returned to England in 1057, but died shortly thereafter.[30]
  3. ^ The exact sentence in Bates is "Urse's refusal to move it drew a poetic Old English curse from the archbishop, which began "Thou are called Urse. May you have God's curse.""[74]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Lawson "Ealdred" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  2. ^ a b Barlow Edward the Confessor pp. 208–209
  3. ^ a b Hindley Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons p. 335
  4. ^ a b King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII p. 124
  5. ^ Knowles Monastic Order in England p. 72
  6. ^ a b c King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII p. 125
  7. ^ a b Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 224
  8. ^ Barlow Edward the Confessor p. 86
  9. ^ a b Huscroft Ruling England p. 49
  10. ^ Maund Welsh Kings pp. 89–90
  11. ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 50
  12. ^ Smith, et al. "Court and Piety" Catholic Historical Review p. 574
  13. ^ Barlow Godwins p. 55
  14. ^ Rex Harold II p. 37
  15. ^ Barlow Edward the Confessor p. 103
  16. ^ Mason House of Godwine pp. 57–58
  17. ^ King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII pp. 126–127
  18. ^ a b c King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII p. 127
  19. ^ a b c Walker Harold pp. 132–133
  20. ^ Barlow Edward the Confessor p. 114
  21. ^ Huscroft Ruling England pp. 6–7
  22. ^ Fleming Kings & Lords in Conquest England pp. 79–80
  23. ^ Barlow English Church 1000–1066 p. 88
  24. ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 8
  25. ^ Walker Harold p. 76
  26. ^ Barlow Edward the Confessor pp. 215–218
  27. ^ a b c d e King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII p. 128
  28. ^ Mason House of Godwine p. 88
  29. ^ Rex Harold II p. 126
  30. ^ Rex Harold II p. 127
  31. ^ Rex Harold II p. 77
  32. ^ Mason House of Godwine p. 94
  33. ^ a b c Barlow Edward the Confessor pp. 197–199
  34. ^ Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 217
  35. ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 45
  36. ^ Greenway "Archbishops" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York
  37. ^ Loyn English Church p. 61
  38. ^ a b c d King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII pp. 128–129
  39. ^ a b Maund Welsh Kings pp. 94–95
  40. ^ a b Darlington "Ecclesiastical Reform" English Historical Review pp. 399–400
  41. ^ Quoted in King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII p. 130
  42. ^ Barlow English Church 1000–1066 p. 89
  43. ^ a b King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII p. 130
  44. ^ Rex Harold II p. 129
  45. ^ King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII pp. 134–137
  46. ^ Loyn Governance p. 158
  47. ^ Hindley Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons p. 330
  48. ^ a b c d Powell and Wallis House of Lords pp. 13–14
  49. ^ a b King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII p. 131
  50. ^ King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII pp. 131–132
  51. ^ Walker Harold p. 50
  52. ^ Knowles Monastic Order p. 76
  53. ^ Barlow English Church 1000–1066 pp. 106–107
  54. ^ Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury p. 306
  55. ^ King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII pp. 132–133
  56. ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 46
  57. ^ Darlington "Ecclesiastical Reform" English Historical Review p. 404
  58. ^ a b Barlow English Church, 1066–1154 p. 122
  59. ^ Barlow English Church 1000–1066 p. 246
  60. ^ Rex Harold pp. 199–200
  61. ^ Barlow English Church 1000–1066 p. 60 footnote 4
  62. ^ Walker Harold p. 117
  63. ^ Douglas William the Conqueror p. 183
  64. ^ Lawson Battle of Hastings p. 42 footnote 93
  65. ^ Lawson Battle of Hastings p. 75
  66. ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 19
  67. ^ a b Williams English and the Norman Conquest p. 32
  68. ^ Rex Harold II p. 130
  69. ^ Douglas William the Conqueror p. 206
  70. ^ a b Powell and Wallis House of Lords p. 1
  71. ^ Walker Harold pp. 185–187
  72. ^ Stafford Queen Emma & Queen Edith p. 183
  73. ^ Kapelle Norman Conquest of the North p. 109
  74. ^ a b Quoted in Bates William the Conqueror p. 153
  75. ^ a b Barlow English Church, 1066–1154 p. 57
  76. ^ Bates William the Conqueror p. 156
  77. ^ Dodwell Anglo-Saxon Art p. 93, quoting the Chronica Ecclesiae Eboracensis (York chronicle). None of these works remain.
  78. ^ Dodwell Anglo-Saxon Art p. 65 and note 151 on pp. 264–265
  79. ^ Palliser "John of Beverley (St John of Beverley) (d. 721)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  80. ^ Blair Church in Anglo-Saxon Society p. 314
  81. ^ Lapidge "Ealdred" Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England p. 153
  82. ^ Lapidge "Ealdred of York" Yorkshire Archaeological Journal pp. 16–18
  83. ^ a b Loyn English Church p. 62
  84. ^ Harper-Bill "Anglo-Norman Church" Companion to the Anglo-Norman World p. 158
  85. ^ Loyn English Church p. 67
  86. ^ Lawson Battle of Hastings p. 62 footnote 34
  87. ^ Wormald Making of English Law pp. 130–131

References

Further reading

External links
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Abbot of Tavistock
1027–43 		Succeeded by
Sihtric
Preceded by Bishop of Hereford
1056–1060 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Bishop of Worcester
1046–1062 		Succeeded by
Wulfstan
Preceded by Archbishop of York
1061–1069 		Succeeded by

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